88 



Agricultural Instruction in Germany. 



THE Director of the Superior School of 

 Agriculture at Berlin, Herr- Del- 

 bruck, recently spoke before the Emperor 

 upon the subject of agricultural instruc- 

 tion. He first pointed out that the 

 institution under his control was divided 

 into three great sections -(1) agriculture ; 

 (2) a department which includes drainage 

 and irrigation, plane drawing, and agri- 

 cultural engineering ; and (3) technology 

 which deals mere immedialy with certain 

 industries allied to agriculture, such as 

 the distillery, sugar production, malting 

 and bread-making. Agriculture itself 

 is divided into nine sections, the chief of 

 which are physics and meteorology, 

 chemistry, geology and mineralogy, 

 botany, zoology, and cultivation ihere 

 are well-equipped laboratories, a remark- 

 able'library, a suberbly co;nplete museum, 

 and a well-arranged experimental held, 

 in part covered by glass. Herr Delbruck 

 expressed his hope that the section of 

 technology would be assisted by the 

 generosity of leading men engaged in the 

 various industries to which the work 

 related to the extent of a million marks. 

 Now it is worthy of notice that no fewer 

 than 1,400 persons annually pass through 

 the amphitheatre of the Superior School 

 of Agriculture, and that as between the 

 Staff and various societies of agriculture 

 more than 13,000 persons engaged m 

 practical work have been authorised to 

 make -researches at the School. It was 

 pointed out by the speaker that the 

 population of Germany had trebled dur- 

 ing the past century, and that is promises 

 to' double during the century which had 

 iust commenced. During the last 

 hundred years agricultural production 

 has quadrupled, and it is therefore 

 essential that during the coming century 

 it should double itself in order to re- 

 spond to the requirement of a constantly 

 increasing population ; and, just as the 

 production of food on the farm must 

 augment, so, he pointed out, must there 

 be an increase on the part of those in- 

 dustries which are allied to agriculture, 

 such as the sugar factory and the dis- 

 tillery One or two further remarks may 

 be referred to as showing the views which 

 are held by many leading scientihc men. 

 "Model farms," said Herr Delbruck, 



" have had their day ; at this moment it 

 is the experimental work on the land 

 which is necessary." The art of institu- 

 ting research work is well understood, 

 but" it has become essential to attack im- 

 portant questions on a commensurate 

 scale. Agricultural bacteriology will m 

 the future play a preponderating role in 

 the process of cultivation, and how can 

 the results obtained in the lal^oratory be 

 better applied in experimental practice 

 than by striving for the solution of great 

 questions upon an experimental farm ? 

 In one sense, it was pointed out, the in- 

 vestigator should be the professor ; but, 

 added Herr Delbruck, there are limits 

 beyond which the scientist, who is 

 isolated, finds himself paralysed, as much 

 on account of that which concerns his 

 strength as his knowledge. Indeed there 

 are some forms of work which can only 

 be executed in collaboration with other 

 men of science who are devoted to 

 other branches of their work. The 

 individual charged with the conduct of 

 an experimental farm must necessarily 

 subordinate himself to those who, com- 

 bined perhaps under one head, alone 

 know precisely what they want to obtain. 

 In this sense the experiment farm must 

 become an object of study for numerous 

 investigators simultaneously working 

 from divers points of view but with one 

 common object. Professors of agriculture 

 and zootechny must not fear to descend 

 from their chairs in order to put their 

 theories into practice ; they will m this 

 way gain confidence in themselves and 

 at the same time they will inspire con- 

 fidence among practical men. But it is 

 also essential to consider that a professor 

 of agriculture, divested of all persona 

 responsibility in regard to practical 

 farming, will remain, and must necessarily 

 remain, a simple theorist in the eyes ol 

 farmers. 



During the last ten days of June, 1891, the 

 heat in Calcutta was unusually great, and no 

 fewer than a hundred ^^bdonging to the 

 tramway company were struck down by the sun 

 a large proportion of them dying from the 

 effSthis in spite of the fact that fe Jiorses 

 wore, as is usual during the hot weather pith 

 hats! that protect the poll and the upper part of 

 the neck from the sun, 



